A browser cookie, also known as a web cookie or hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) cookie, is a common technique for storing state information, generated by a web server, at a client device. The state information (i.e., the cookie) may be transmitted from the web server to a browser, at the client device, and stored by the browser in local storage of the client device. In subsequent requests from the browser to the web server, the browser may send the state information as part of the subsequent requests. The state information can be used for authentication, identification of a user session, user preference information, identification of shopping cart contents, or for other purposes that can be accomplished through the storing of text data on a user's computer (i.e., at the client device).
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than as a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to client devices (e.g., computers, smart phones, etc.) as a utility over a network, such as the Internet. Cloud computing environments provide computation, software, data access, and/or storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of a physical location and configuration of a system that delivers the services.